It's damn near night when we pull up to the building the gala is held in. Jason arrives barely a second after. I suppose Saiya couldn't hold him back for long. The lights are on, and the door is open. We enter the building to a sea of workers, going back and forth, setting up different areas. This puts a frown on Jason's and my face. Nobody should be a busy bee a few days before their big opening. If they are, it means they're unprepared, and sloppy work is going to be done.
Diego shouts out a bunch of commands, giving the workers directions that seem unclear to them as he yells at them only a few seconds after giving his commands. Veins are popping out of Diego's neck by the time we reach him. Upon seeing us, he breathes a sigh of relief. What he's planning on us to do about this, I don't know.
"Thank God you're here," Sarah, our event manager, comes up to us. Her hair is a mess, and she's in her pajamas, clearly awoken from her slumber and dragged here. I make the appointments and order the supplies, but everything goes through Sarah. She's been planning these galas for ten years. Nobody can do it like she can.
"Everything is a mess. Even I don't know what to do. The flowers burned down during a company fire, putting their entire business on hold. They're the only company that provides our unique flowers which are one of the iconic elements of the gala. The animals have all come down with an illness, and one of our models twisted one of their ankles. It's one of the males that were supposed to model our peacock design. The electrician doesn't know what's going on with the lights. There's a leak in the roof, and the mechanics for all of our action displays are tweaking. This is a shit show."
By the time Sarah finishes listing everything that has gone wrong, I know we're in for a long night. Jason has a cool facade, but working with him side by side for two years is all I've needed to know when he's angry. That's what happens when you deal with a lot of frustrating situations like this one.
"Call all of your workers off," Jason orders. Diego blows a whistle, and everybody in the room immediately stops what they're doing. "Call Sebastian. Make sure he gives you the number of their decorations specialist. Luke, do you think you can rock a peacock tuxedo?" Jason doesn't spare Luke a glance, still in thought. "Can I ever?" Luke grins.
"Hire a new electrician and get more technicians for the rest of our problems," Sarah is nodding, already about to call Sebastian. "If you don't mind me butting in, I know a way to fix all of our problems for free. All except the sick animals. I don't know any vets," I comment. I may not know everything about my family, but I can remember a thing or two. It turns out we can do something about this.
Jason stays quiet, waiting for me to continue. "Dylan is an ex-mechanic. I've seen that man at work. It's truly a marvel. He can fix our mechanic situation by the time of the gala. Damien used to work as a light tech. He quit, but he was damn good at it. I know a guy who fixes roofs for a living, and I can get Sebastian to hook us up with those flowers for free,"
Jason cocks an eyebrow at me, surprised at how useful our family is right now. "I didn't know that. How are you going to get Sebastian, an arrogant money-loving prick, to give us, his rival company, anything free?" I take a deep breath and sigh. That is a price I'm going to have to pay all on my own.
"Because I have something he wants," Jason's eyes turn into slits as he crosses his arms and turns toward me. "And that would be?" Judging by his increasing anger, Jason knows where I'm going with this. "You know what that would be. He's been pining after me since day one. I can give the man a date or two," I roll my eyes. That man is relentless, but he's never been disrespectful in his approaches. "Absolutely not," Jason says in a deadly tone. "My staff is not to be served up on a silver platter for bargains. I'll pay for it," he makes his words final. To everyone else at least.
"Please, we both know he's going to charge you the price it would take to buy all of Asia. Those flowers alone can make us go bankrupt. He knows if we don't have them this year, we lose status and face. We've been on a streak. Those flowers are tradition. You made it that way, so if we can get them for free, then we will." I say with finality.
Jason doesn't budge on his stance. "I'm your boss, and I'm telling you no," I quickly start to get annoyed. This man here. "Fine, I'll call the guys, so they can come get this place fixed," Jason gives me a suspicious gaze. He knows I don't give up easily.
"Who is the friend that fixes roofs?" he asks. "The friend of my ex," I tell him as I'm searching for Damien's name. Jason's jaw ticks, but he doesn't shut me down. I distance myself from him. I click on Sebastian's name and start to call him. He picks up within three rings.
"Well, this is certainly a surprise, sweetheart," Sebastian purrs through the phone. Jason's veins start to pop out of his body. "That's not Damien's or Dylan's voice," he growls. Shit, I forgot about his amazing hearing. "Avengers, unite!" I yell before I go off dashing to the doors we came from not too long ago.
I don't have to look behind me to know Luke is in front of Jason, trying to prevent him from coming at me. Luke and I created this code a long time ago. The moment those words are spoken, whoever speaks it needs to cover or protect the other.
I almost feel bad for putting Luke in Jason's way when I know Jason can snap Luke like a twig. I bust through the doors, hoping Luke can provide me with just enough time to arrange this date. "I need to finish this before Mr. Madden rips me a new one. Our flowers aren't going to be here for the gala, so we need you and your resources to get some for us. We need them as closely replicated to the ones we'd normally get as possible, and we're going to need 300 of them in three days. The colors need to be lilac, light pink, baby blue, white, black, rose red, and silver. Make the lighter colors shiny and gloss them up. Before you ask, you'll get a date with me if we get these for free," I rush through my words, but I know Sebastian will remember everything I've said.
I'm dashing in these heels, and by the sounds of it, Jason isn't far. When it takes Sebastian two seconds too long to respond, I call out to him. "That's quite the hefty task and quite the expensive one. You must think highly of yourself if you think one date with you is worth it," I don't have time for these shenanigans.
"Well, I don't know. You tell me. Am I worth it?" I can practically see Sebastian's grin. "Three dates, and a full day together," I nearly stumble over my feet. With a heavy groan, I make the obvious decision. "Deal," it isn't like he is proposing to me. It is a good deal.
"I'll be seeing you shortly," Sebastian purrs into the phone. "No, you won't," I nearly get a heart attack from Jason's sudden voice behind me. Jason grips me by my waist and pins me to his chest. "Yes, you will!" Sebastian doesn't get to hear everything I said as Jason has already hung up. I lift my head and meet his ferocious gaze with one of my own.
"You do not directly disrespect me in front of our peers, and you don't disobey my orders. Ever," Jason's chest vibrates from his low growl, and his eyes shine gold. His canines are revealed, yet I can't find it in myself to be scared. "Then I'll make sure to disrespect you when we're alone. In regards to obeying your orders, that's something I only do when you're right, which lately, hasn't been often,"
Jason pins me by my stomach to a nearby tree, which isn't hard to find. The back of the building is practically a forest. How I didn't trip with my heels is a miracle. The bark scratches at my skin but doesn't break through. "You're pushing it, Heartfelt," Jason leans in, keeping eye contact with me as he tries to be as intimidating as possible. "You're the one pushing me, literally," Jason cups my chin with two of his fingers. "I'm not playing, Soren. Call it off. Right now. Sebastian isn't a good man. He's a businessman,"
I grip his wrist and lean in close, keeping eye contact. Our lips are mere inches apart. His body heat warms me, and my heart races from the adrenaline of the chase. Or so I say, but I won't tread into those dangerous waters. "Then what does that make you?" I whisper. "I don't know. You tell me. I might be wrong again," Jason grins. I lean back with a laugh. "You've been hanging around me for too long,"
Jason releases his grip on me. I lean on the tree for a moment before leaning forward to head back, but my hair entangles in the bark, and I'm pulled back. I work to untwist my hair when Jason settles his hand on mine. I stop my actions, and Jason takes over. "I have been hanging around you too long. You're driving me insane," he growls in my ear before untangling my hair. "Let's go," he starts heading back. I take a breather before following after.
"I'm actually insulted you put Luke on me. Normally, people think I'm strong, but you know I'm a lot more than that. I took more time trying to figure out how to push him aside without hurting him than I spent fending him off." I grin and catch up to him. I bump him with my hip and jog ahead of him. "It worked, didn't it? I got myself a hot date, and I got you pissed off. It's a two-in-one deal."
Jason growls and grabs me from behind. "You really love pissing me off, don't you?" his breath tickles my ear from behind. My breath hitches, and I turn my head to look at him from the side. "Yes, yes I do," we both pause for a few seconds, staring at each other. The longer I look into his eyes, the deeper I go. Eventually, I'm sinking. There's no end to it. It feels cold and never-ending, but a shiver of warmth makes its way in until I'm pushed out. I gasp, breathless.
Jason snaps out of the trance as well. He puts his business face back on and clears his throat. "We should get going," we don't break eye contact. "We should," I agree. Fuck, I'm getting light-headed. Jason slowly removes his hands from my stomach. We finally break eye contact and head back.
What the fuck was that? I have so many questions about our interaction, yet I don't want to ask myself them. I don't want the answers.
--
It was a good time but a hard time with the boys. Instead of planning the flowers and delivering them, Sebastian sent me their flower company's contact information. I was busy getting every detail right. Meanwhile, Sarah was giving Damien and Dylan strict orders. Justin was surprised when I gave him a call. We haven't talked in years.
He showed up immediately, wanting to hang out as compensation. The night was long and tedious, but there were some fun times in between. We got some music playing for entertainment. Jason was discussing the plans with Diego, and the other workers were following orders from whoever needed them. We finished sometime in the morning before daylight hit. When the decorations come in, we'll have to cram in the time to get the set-ups on point. Luke had to practice the signals and the walks. Maya was called to make sure the suit could fit him. Jason and I had to go back to the company and go see Maya to finish our outfits.
According to her, she's got most of it done. She needs to see how well it fits and add the jewelry. I kick off my shoes, wipe off my makeup, take a short shower, and then I start getting ready in my office clothes. There was no point in delaying it. I wrap my hair in a messy bun and get a few hours of sleep.
- -
I'm awoken far too soon for my liking. I decided to buy breakfast and walk out of the door. As soon as I pull up to the office, I get a call from Sebastian. "Hello, dear. I just wanted to make arrangements for our meet-up," I rub my hands over my face and groan. "Anytime that you're free after the gala," my voice is muffled because of my hands, but I'm sure he can hear me.
"Great, I look forward to it. How do you feel about a spa day with breakfast," I whimper from the delightfulness of those words. "Goodness, Sebastian, you just spoke words from heaven. I'd love to do that," I get out of my car and enter the building. "Anything for you, sweetheart," I can't help the smile that creeps onto my face. "I'm going to hold you to that," Sebastian deeply chuckles through the phone. I can feel the vibrations from his voice throughout my entire body.
"I'll look forward to it then," Sebastian coos. "Me too, I'll call you later," We say our goodbyes, then hang up. I really am looking forward to this date. Sebastian isn't a bad guy and certainly isn't hard on the eyes by any means, but I can't date someone from a rival company. It is literally in the contract I signed when I entered the company. It's strictly forbidden for fear of lack of confidentiality. You tell your partners everything, including the new project that's been stressing you out. This would obviously cause problems.
Sebastian isn't one to date anyway. He'll charm your panties off and give you a good time, but he doesn't go back for seconds. I did my research on the Playboy CEO a while ago. If anything, he'll be a good lay. I walk into the office with a smile. "Someone is happy," Delilah walks up to me with her fiery red hair, glasses, and thick thighs.
This woman is sex on heels, and she knows it. "My morning is off to a good start," I walk into my office and leave the door open for her. "Are you finally getting dick?" she closes my door with a thud and walks up to me with a smirk. She plants her big ass on my desk. I sit in my chair and cock a brow at her actions. She reciprocates, waiting for my response.
"Maybe, I don't know yet, but I hope so. It's been too long, "
"Aint that the truth. The girls talk about how dry you are all the time. " Delilah plays with her long acrylics. I pull out my laptop and log into it. "I'd rather be dry than thirsty for every man that makes himself known. I can't blame them, though. This job isn't exactly entertaining,"
Delilah scoffs. "That's the biggest understatement of the year. Speaking of fun, we girls are going out this weekend. We plan to club around. It'll be a good chance for you to get back into the game," I snort out a loud laugh. I quickly cover my mouth after seeing Delilah's insulted face.
"Sorry, but I'll have to decline. I actually have plans of my own this weekend. Besides, I wouldn't trust any of you girls with my toenail, much less to look after me while I get batshit drunk. If anything, you'll all get drunk or leave off with some guy without me, leaving me to clean up your mess. I'm not looking to babysit,"
Delilah grins and stops playing with her nails. "Touche. I didn't know you had so much spunk. I thought your only character trait was having a stick up your ass."
"You're not wrong. That is my only personality trait in this place because everyone is always up my ass about something. Jason isn't exactly the easiest person to work next to,"
"But he sure is hot," Delilah leans toward me, not getting uncomfortably close, but still too close. "So, tell me. Is he the man you're going to do the dirty with?" She wiggles her eyebrows at me, and I externally cringe. "No, why would you think that?"
Delilah groans and leans back, clearly disappointed. "It's the perfect setup. Two sexually, mentally, and physically frustrated people working side by side, gradually getting close. And in a sudden wave of passion, they take one another," Delilah narrates. I can't help but roll my eyes. "Wow, what a bestseller," Delilah glares at me, but it isn't serious.
"Have you seen Jason and I? We couldn't be any more distant. He barely spares a glance at me. Not to mention, our physical and mental exhaustion prevents us from doing just what you described. We don't have the time or energy to hide an office romance. Especially not with everybody's prying eyes."
"We're on first name bases now, are we? It sounds to me like you're trying to convince yourself of everything you just said. I know a girl in denial, Soren." Delilah's eyes are reminiscent. The pain in her eyes is faint and quick, but it was there.
I've got to get myself in the office mindset. If I keep calling Jason by his first name, rumors will start spreading. "I'm not in denial. It's true. Nothing has changed. Nothing at all," that is a bold-faced lie. Everything has changed, but Delilah doesn't need to know that. I'm not fooling her, though. "If you want someone to spill your worries on, you know where to find me," Delilah hops off the table and sashays her way out of my office.
Having a woman to talk to about this would indeed be helpful, but as it is, I don't trust Delilah to not spread this around or let it slip. I'll have to keep my dirty little secrets to myself. In the meantime, I'm going to drown myself in work and think about my date with Sebastian rather than the moment Jason and I shared in the forest.